


The Boxer

by edgarallenhoe



Series: Tales of the Legendary Artemis [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/M, Hydra (Marvel), Parent Death, Post-Avengers (2012), SHIELD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-07 22:26:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4280238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edgarallenhoe/pseuds/edgarallenhoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Petra Howell was normal. She had a normal home, two normal parents, and a normal life. When all of that was taken from her, she placed the blame on the Avengers and swore to seek revenge. Teaming up with HYDRA was the only option she had, and they took her in and trained her. Everything changes, however, when she meets Bucky Barnes, better known in her circles as the Winter Soldier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Ring

Petra Howell was alone. That was the only way to describe her place in the world. She had no family to speak of, not anymore. The Avengers had made sure of it. She had lost both her mothers during the battle in New York in 2012. The Avengers and SHIELD were the entire reason the city was being destroyed in the first place, but Petra could’ve forgiven them if the rubble from the collapsing buildings hadn’t fallen and crushed her parents. As soon as she could, she enlisted HYDRA’s aid in seeking vengeance on those who had wronged her. To her surprise, they hadn’t turned her away. Instead, they gave her a gun and taught her to shoot.

The first two years of her enlistment in HYDRA was mainly focused on her training. It didn’t take very long for her to discover her talent for weaponry. Her detachment from the world made her focus better, and she had deadly accuracy with a gun. She preferred close combat, though, and kept a quarterstaff strapped to her back. It wasn’t any ordinary staff either; it was made of vibranium, which HYDRA had somehow gotten their hands on. It was given to her at the end of her training, when HYDRA had decided that they wouldn’t shoot her and instead would keep her around for recon and dangerous missions. She made no friends but preferred it that way. They would just get in the way of her goals.

The thing that made her as dangerous as she was was most likely the fact that she looked like an ordinary young woman. She was 21 years old when she joined up. She had dark, chestnut colored hair that she maintained at shoulder-length, and pale gray eyes. She had milky white skin, and unremarkable facial features. She never wore makeup, and she never styled her hair; the most she did was throw it in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. When she wasn’t wearing her uniform, she looked just like a normal girl fresh out of college. Said uniform was a simple black, sleeveless leather suit with dark brown boots. Her leather gloves were sleek and black and went up to the middle of her forearms. She had a brown leather holster on her thigh and a utility belt strapped around her waist. The only color other than black or brown in her outfit was a single dark purple band around her throat. When she was in her suit, they called her Artemis.

The first assignment they gave her when her training was complete was to watch over the newly-thawed-out Winter Soldier. She had learned about him from listening to others’ conversations. Eavesdropping was quickly becoming one of her specialties as an agent for HYDRA. Petra learned all about the dead-eyed, terrifying man. She heard in whispers that he had been Captain America’s friend, his ally. HYDRA had taken him prisoner once before, and what they did to him saved his life when he later fell out of a train into a ravine. He was a super soldier now, similar to Steve Rogers and rivaling him in abilities. He had the upper hand, though, literally, as his left arm was made entirely out of metal. Petra was a little disappointed, to be honest. Not with him, by any means, but with the task they had given her. She had figured they would’ve sent her to do something more dangerous to prove herself. Little did she know, it would turn out to be just that.

She guarded his cell while he came around for a few days. She had assumed it wouldn’t take long but it did, and she was bored out of her mind. She passed the time by listening to snatches of conversation coming from the hallway. She heard people talking about the goings-on in the world, their family lives, and Project Insight. She knew almost all of the details by now.

“... and the helicarriers will seek out targets…”

“... eliminate people around the world…”

“... the deaths of thousands…”

The snatches she had heard didn’t sound super great, but she figured she was going to be on the winning side so it didn’t particularly matter. The hallway finally went silent and she was yawning boredly when she felt a hand violently yank her ponytail backwards. Her head smashed against the bars on the door of the cell as another hand, a cold one made of metal, wrapped itself around her throat. She didn’t even have time to scream. Her head felt light and she was gasping and clutching at the hand around her neck. She clawed blindly at her gun and pulled it out as quickly as she could, shooting three bullets wildly. She just needed to get someone’s attention, and sure enough people came running when they heard the gunshots. 

They shocked the metal-armed man with multiple tasers, and she was quickly released. Breathing again felt strange, and she was heaving when she turned to look at the man who had almost ended her life. He was currently panting wildly, and he had a crazed look in his blue eyes. His long brown hair lay flat on his head, and it was in a state of disarray that Petra could only associate with bedhead. Despite almost being murdered by him, she was intrigued. He looked like a caged animal, and it was almost sad to see the confusion and fear underneath the blind rage in his gaze.

“You can see now why we had you watch him,” a male voice said from behind her. She spun on her heel to glare at Alexander Pierce. Even though he was her boss, she was still extremely pissed that he would put her in this situation.

“What the hell? Why couldn’t you just give me something normal to do instead of looking after this murderous freak?” Her words were harsh. She knew the soldier couldn’t control how he had been molded, but she was too angry with Pierce to think straight at the moment.

“Watch your tone,” Pierce growled. Petra let out an exasperated sigh and sagged her shoulders in defeat.

“Yes sir, sorry sir.”

“He’s dangerous, that’s true. We assumed, however, that you would be able to control him and keep watch of him in the cell. Did we assume incorrectly?”

“I’m sorry sir, he just hadn’t done anything for four days. I figured he’d never move. I wasn’t… aware of his actions when he attacked me.” She had turned scarlet and was looking at the floor. HYDRA didn’t really believe in second chances, and she figured she might get a bullet between her eyes right then and there.

“He snuck up on you, did he? Can’t really say I’m surprised.” Pierce was looking over the Winter Soldier through the bars. The man in question was currently seething, pacing back and forth in his confinement. “I’m gonna let him out.”

“... What do you mean by that sir?” Petra held her breath, hoping he wasn’t going to let this beast-like man run free in the complex.

“He has an important job to do,” was all Pierce would say about it before turning and walking the other direction.

“Hail HYDRA,” Petra spat the words at Pierce’s retreating back as she watched him walk away. She glanced back at the man in the cell. Despite her earlier words and all her fears about him, she still felt pity while she watched him chomp at the bit in his cage. 

“You’re going to change everything,” Petra murmured. He didn’t seem to hear her as he paced the length of the room. She looked at his hands and absent-mindedly rubbed her throat. Yes, everything would soon change.


	2. On the Sidelines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Petra is witnessing the downfall of HYDRA, and it isn't pretty. She doesn't really know what this means for her, but what she sees on the riverbank will change everything.

Petra had been right. As soon as the Winter Soldier was unleashed on the world on a more public scale, nothing was the same. For a brief moment, SHIELD had dissolved and HYDRA stood in its place. Nick Fury himself had lain dead at the hands of James Buchanan Barnes, the greatest weapon in HYDRA’s arsenal. The tide of the battle was turning in their favor. That hadn’t lasted long, though. 

Those who are dead apparently don’t remain that way, as Nick Fury had aided Captain America, Black Widow, and the Falcon (a new opponent she hadn’t heard of before) in a mission to take down the helicarriers and destroy Project Insight. Petra herself had been doing ground-level work at that point. She was trying to keep soldiers in line and SHIELD members under control. What stopped her was the sight of the helicarrier crashing into the water. The Winter Soldier had been on it, along with Captain America. She was off like a shot, racing to see whether the Soldier had survived the landing. What she saw took her breath away.

Barnes was alive, thankfully, but he wasn’t alone. He was dragging another body behind him out of the water. She saw the emblem and recognized Captain America, but why would he be trying to save his life? From what she understood, they consistently wiped his memory so he wouldn’t remember any piece of his past. Why, then, did he not leave the man to die aboard the ship? Questions swam through her head as she approached the pair, but she didn’t get the chance to confront him as he disappeared into the brush before she could reach them. 

“Shit,” she swore, coming to a stop in front of Captain America’s lifeless body. She had a gun, she could put a bullet in his brain and that would be the end of it. Something stopped her, though. The fact that Barnes, a trained killer, the assassin of hundreds of men throughout the years, had spared his life stayed her hand. Right then are there, she vowed to find him. She would search until the end of days just for the chance to speak with him. Shoving aside all her loyalties to HYDRA, which was going down in flames around her, she knelt next to Captain America, Steve Rogers, and started performing CPR. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. Finally, mercifully, he spit the water from his lungs and started gasping for air. He was breathing, but his head quickly lolled back down and his eyes closed. He was basically useless with all of his injuries.

He was still unconscious when she dragged him to the nearest road. She was strong, but pulling Steve Rogers around was like trying to move a 200 pound cinder block. She was sweating with the effort but finally made it to a street. There were dozens of cars lining it, and she picked the nearest one and smashed the window in. She figured this was an emergency and required the use of a little force, or at least that’s how she was trying to justify it as she hotwired the vehicle. She hoisted Rogers into the backseat and got into the driver’s side, searching for the nearest hospital. When she reached one, she put the car in park. Running into the hospital, she forgot about her appearance. She was covered in dust, sweat, and blood, and she was still wearing her leather uniform. Everyone, patients and employees alike, was giving her a weird look. She ignored them and screeched to a halt in front of the reception desk.

“There was a man, he was hurt badly. He’s in my backseat, please, you have to help him!” She thought she sounded a bit hysterical, but that’s because she was. She had no place in the world anymore, not with the downfall of those she had worked for. Steve Rogers was her chance to keep her life.

“Calm down, ma’am. We’ll help him, don’t worry.” The receptionist started calling people and waving others over. Soon, they had Steve Rogers on a stretcher and were pulling him into the hospital. He looked pretty horrendous with his face cut up and bruised and his body covered in dirt and blood. She could tell he would look handsome if his hair was dry and clean and his face wasn’t so distorted. As she trailed along behind the doctors and nurses, she felt a weird kinship with the unconscious man. Saving his life had awoken something in her, something that had long before been buried. Petra wanted him to trust her. She wanted this man’s aid in finding something they had both lost.

In Petra’s case, James Barnes had never really been her’s in any way, shape, or form, but curiosity was driving her mad. Working for HYDRA, she had never formed any attachments to coworkers or other trainees, but he had been different. When he tried to kill her from his cell, she had wanted nothing more than to help him out (at the same time, she had been terrified of him). He was broken and she wanted to help fix him. She knew he and Steve had been friends, and to him this would be far more personal.

She waited for a week for Steve to regain consciousness. When Natasha Romanov found out where Steve was, she let her mistrust of Petra be known as soon as she walked through the door.

“You! You should be behind bars,” Natasha growled as she strode up to the disheveled girl sitting in the waiting room. She was still dirty and smelled bad and she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a few days, so she was not in the mood for this conversation.

“I saved his goddamn life! That should count for something!” Petra stood and noted that she stood a bit taller than the redhead in front of her. Natasha’s nostrils flared.

“I’m watching you. One wrong move…” She trailed off and glared daggers at the brunette. A tall black man stood behind her. Petra could only assume that this was the Falcon as he put his hand on Natasha’s shoulder and led her away. They sat on the opposite side of the room. When Steve finally woke up, they were the ones by his side. She waited for an eternity until finally she was allowed to see him.

“We’ll be watching,” the man, whose name she learned was Sam Wilson, said to her a bit menacingly as she walked into the room Captain America was recovering in. He looked a lot better than he had been she had found him on the riverbank. He looked at her a bit curiously as she strode in.

“Why’d you do it?” were the first words out of her mouth as she walked through the door. She was a bit startled that he spoke so soon.

“Well… you weren’t alone when I found you. There was a man. The Winter Soldier. He… he saved you from drowning. I just got you here.”

“You saw him? You saw Bucky?” She looked at him curiously at the name Bucky, but replied nonetheless.

“James Buchanan Barnes pulled you out of the water. And he’s still out there. That’s actually why I stuck around. I wanted to do right by you. To do right by him. And I want your help to find him again.”

“Well, you don’t have to convince me. Ever since I found out it was him I’ve wanted to bring him back. I just know… underneath he’s still just the same-old Buck.” Petra sighed in relief. She knew that this was the right path, and that just going after the Winter Soldier by herself would have been suicide.

“I do have some questions, though.” Her outward appearance didn’t change, but inside she felt a bit nervous and sick. Here it comes, she thought. “Who exactly are you?”

“My name is Petra Howell. I am 23 years old. I work for HYDRA. Well… worked for HYDRA. I know where my loyalties lie now.”

“With SHIELD? With the Avengers?” She could tell his question was a bit loaded, and she answered it carefully.

“I joined HYDRA because I blamed SHIELD and the Avengers for the deaths of my parents. Without you all, there never would have even been an attack on New York City. I don’t think that what I did was wrong, but I can’t go back there. Especially not now. When I saw Bucky pull you onto the bank, I realized something: loyalties lie in those who inspire them. HYDRA hadn’t inspired my loyalties. I was only using them to seek vengeance. But Bucky was obviously still loyal to you. I heard about how close you two were, and I know you’re right about him still being the same under his weather-beaten exterior. I want to find him. I want to help him.”

Steve looked a bit stunned at the grimy-looking girl standing at the foot of his bed. He hadn’t expected this response from her, but his expression quickly turned thoughtful.

“Well, you’re gonna have to start looking for leads, then. I can’t do much from this bed.” Petra cracked a smile, her first real one in a very long time. Things were starting to look up.


	3. In His Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for Bucky Barnes has been leading to nothing but dead ends, but what will happen when a valid lead actually springs up?

Two years. Petra Howell had been searching for Bucky Barnes for two years. The longer she spent with Steve, the easier it was to feel close to the man she was looking for. He told her all about their good times together, their old shenanigans, old girlfriends, and the hard times as well. Steve was only ever with her when he wasn’t aiding the Avengers, so he wasn’t with her that often. She was mostly left with Sam Wilson. To say that they’d grown close would be an overstatement of their relationship, not that Sam hadn’t tried to get to know the young girl. She just wasn’t very receptive to his attempts at companionship.

Currently, they were investigating a lead in Arizona, and they had been forced to drive there. Petra wasn’t exactly keen on sharing a car with Sam, whose chatter was being to drive her mad.

“C’mon, you’re telling me that you’re fine without sleeves? I mean, you should have some sort of protection up there.” Petra rolled her eyes and stared out the window of the car.

“It’s fine. I can handle a few cuts and bruises.” 

“But you could get shot. Or stabbed! Do you have a death wish?”

“If I get shot, it’d go through the leather anyways. And a stab wound? No one gets close enough to me,” she scoffed.

“I’ll say,” Sam murmured, not taking his eyes off the long stretch of road before him. He was silent for almost the entire rest of the ride, which Petra was extremely thankful for. They were in the home stretch, with just one hour until they reached their destination. She hoped the trail hadn’t gone cold. When they finally slowed to a stop, it was in front of a dump. A literal dump. Petra got out of the car, looking around confusedly.

“This is where he was last seen?” Sam got out of the driver’s side and gagged at the stench. He waved his hand in front of his face, looking disgusted.

“Whew! That’s nasty. Yeah, this is where they said he’d be.”

“Alright then,” Petra said, rolling back her shoulders and wandering in. It looked just like a dump you’d see in the movies. There were heaps of trash everywhere, and it smelled awful. Luckily, it was far enough away from any towns or cities that it wouldn’t stink up a residential area. Sam followed closely behind her, gun drawn. Suddenly, she heard a small bang, like something falling over. They carefully crept toward the sound, moving stealthily behind the trash heaps. As they neared the source of the sound, Petra’s breathing hitched a bit. What if this was it? What if they found Bucky here?

Sadly, they were disappointed. When they turned the corner, they quickly discovered that the only other person in the dump was a homeless man. He had shaggy brown hair and was wearing a coat made out of a silvery material. Was this some sort of joke?

“Are you kidding me?” Sam dropped his gun to his side and stared incredulously at the poor man standing before them. Petra holstered her own and sighed in frustration.

“We just drove forty hours for literally nothing. We’re flying back, I hope you don’t have an attachment to your car.” The man rummaging through the dump looked extremely confused.

“Shit, I borrowed it from Stark. Hope he doesn’t mind,” Sam huffed as he turned around to head back to the car in question. Petra glanced at his retreating back and then at the man they had just startled. She rummaged through her wallet and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. Silently, she handed it to the homeless man. After he took it, she turned and jogged to catch up with Sam.

“Hey, thanks!” she heard him call to her. She ignored him and slowed her pace once she caught up with her companion. He was grumbling to himself about the bad information they had gotten. 

“... no goddamn way they really sent us out here… middle of the fucking desert… I will kill him!”

They ditched the car once they found the nearest airport and flew back to New York. They had to update Steve on the fact that all of their last few leads had been bad ones. They were no closer than why they had started.

“Any news?” Steve was on his feet as soon as they entered the Stark tower. When Ultron was defeated a new Avengers facility opened up, but it was only really used for training recruits and as a base of operations. The Avengers still basically lived in and around the tower itself.

“Not a damn thing,” Sam sighed, “We haven’t had a good lead since Denmark. And even that turned out to be a dead end.”

“You just liked Denmark because of that girl you met,” Petra glared at the man standing beside her, who threw up his arms in a sort of surrender.

“We have to keep trying. I actually got some intel while you were both out, and I think this one might be solid. I was waiting for both of your opinions’, though.” It warmed Petra in a weird way that Steve valued her opinions. She had once hated him but had grudgingly grown to respect and even like the muscular blond man.

“All right, what do you got? If it’s in another landfill, I’m gonna have to sit it out,” Sam joked. Steve chuckled and shook his head.

“Someone thinks they saw him in Nebraska. He must’ve slipped up, because they say they saw everything: white guy, long brown hair, metal arm with a red star on it. Probably the real deal.” 

“How did you just sit on this information? I figured if you had something this solid you’d get there as fast as you could,” Petra said, looking a bit incredulously at the super soldier.

“That’s true, I should be in Nebraska by now. But if this is the real deal, I think we should have some more backup. I think Wanda and Vision should come with us. They both have abilities that none of us have, and I think they might be able to help him retrieve his memories. What do you both think?” He looked earnestly between the pair.

“I think it’s a good idea.”

“Me, too.”

“Alright, everyone suit up! We’re finally gonna bring him home.” Twenty minutes later, Petra was on a jet seated next to Sam, Wanda, Vision, and Steve. She had never really formally met Wanda or Vision, as she wasn’t a true member of the Avengers. She wasn’t even really on that friendly of terms with them. They still distrusted her, but she really didn’t care. All she could focus on was the broken man that she had been searching for. Something inside her just wanted to make him whole again.

“What are you called?” Wanda suddenly asked in her thick accent, shaking Petra out of her thoughts.

“You can just call me Artemis.” Giving out her codename was a lot easier than just throwing around her real name.

“But this is not your true name?” Wanda was looking at the closed-off girl curiously.

“No.” Petra didn’t want this girl prying into her life, but she said something that surprised her.

“I understand.” Wanda nodded at her and went back to minding her own business. Petra looked at her strangely for a moment before shrugging and staring at the floor. Two hours later, they were in Middle of Nowhere, Nebraska, population zero. They all exited the jet and surveyed their surroundings. They were in the middle of a field near an abandoned farmhouse. A barn stood about 100 feet away from the main house and another building stood nearby that. Apparently, some kids had been running around exploring and had caught a glimpse of the metal-armed man.

“Let’s split up. Sam and I will go to the main house. Wanda, Vision, you two take care of the barn. Artemis, you’re gonna have to search that other building alone.” They all nodded. Petra silently thanked Steve. It wasn’t necessarily that she worked better alone, she just preferred it. They all took off in their separate directions. Petra unstrapped her quarterstaff and silently made her way into the dilapidated building. She pushed open the old, decaying wooden door and crept inside. Pushing away cobwebs, she made her way deeper into the main room. It looked like it had been a storage building at one time or another. She was focused on not making any noise when she heard the creaking of the wood above her. Heart beating a mile a minute, she found a staircase and made her way carefully up it.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she held her breath and pushed open the door. Standing at the end of the long room was James Buchanan Barnes. He slowly turned his head and looked at her.

“Bucky- I mean James, I’m here to-” She was cut off as the man she was watching came hurtling straight toward her. She yelped and rolled to the side, dodging his body (which was far heavier than her own).

“You!” So, he recognized her.

“Stop, I’m here to help!”

“Liar!” he growled at her. She was crouched defensively near a wall while he stood blocking the only exit. She held her finger over a small groove on her staff; if she pressed, it would turn the end into something like a taser.

“I’m not here with HYDRA. I promise you!” She slowly stood, lowering her staff to her side and holding up her left hand in a gesture of surrender. His nostrils flared at her as his hand lowered itself to the holster on his waist. “Don’t do this, Bucky. I’m here with Steve. We’re here to help.”

“Steve?” That had gotten his attention. He still looked a bit wild, but his hand moved away from his gun.

“He’s here. Just let me contact him. We can help you, Bucky. We can help you remember.” He looked defeated at her words. She let out a sigh and turned on her comm. “Steve, I found him.”

There was no answer. Bucky was eyeing her cautiously, and she returned the gaze. He was handsome under all his scruff. He had grown out a beard in his solitude and his hair was really long, but she could tell that if he just trimmed it up a bit he’d be pretty great-looking. He was solid and muscular, and his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. These were really distracting thoughts to be having, and she was glad when Steve finally burst through the door.

“Bucky!” He made his way over to HYDRA’s former weapon, Sam, Wanda, and Vision trailing along behind him.

“Steve?” Bucky’s voice sounded like it must’ve when they were kids growing up together. His face looked absolutely broken. When he saw the blond man, he just stared at him in confusion.

“It’s me, Buck.” Bucky surprised everyone, especially Steve, when he pulled him into a crushing bear hug. Steve returned it, glad for the comfort of his old friend.

“I want to remember.” He said when he finally pulled away. Steve nodded, and Wanda and Vision went to work. The process was agonizing and painful to watch. Bucky was writhing on the floor while Wanda coaxed memories out of their hiding places. Petra didn’t know how much more of this she could take, but finally, mercifully, it was over. Bucky was drenched in sweat and looked dead-tired. His eyes seemed to be a million years older than he was.

“I killed so many people,” he whispered, burying his face in his one flesh-and-bone hand. There were tears streaming down his face. Steve rested his hand on his shoulder.

“It wasn’t you, Bucky. Not really. You can’t blame the gun for the gunman’s actions.”

“But I was both,” Bucky murmured, shaking his head. He lifted his head and looked around at all the people in the room. His gaze rested on Petra. “You…”

“Me.” She was staring right back at him.

“I tried to kill you. More than once. Why are you here?”

“For you. I want…. I want to swear myself to you.” All the faces in the room were suddenly turned towards her.

“What?” Sam was looking at her incredulously. “This ain’t the 1600’s and you aren’t a knight.”

“I know that, but I want nothing more than to help you. When I saw what HYDRA had done to you, I knew I had to do something to put it right. You were beaten, a wounded animal. And HYDRA made you that way. But you fought back, in the end. I respect that, and I respect your strength of character. The fact that your bond with Steve could break through whatever those madmen did to you was astonishing to me. I will fight for you and by you, if you’ll have me.” She thought she sounded a bit ridiculous, but these were her true feelings. This was also probably the most any of them had ever heard her say in one go. Bucky looked a bit stunned.

“I accept,” he said as he stood. Her words seemed to have put a bit of fire back into him. He had a determined look in his eyes as he stood and clasped her hand with his metal one. The tiniest smile broke out on her face. This was the beginning of a lifelong partnership.

**Author's Note:**

> I took a bit of a break from writing about Pietro (my love) and decided to write a little bit about one of my favorite super soldiers. I hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
